“True North Sports & Entertainment felt it was important for the new Winnipeg Jets to develop a strong new identity,” said Mark Chipman, Chairman & Governor of True North Sports & Entertainment. “We felt it was important to authenticate the name Jets and we believe the new logo does that through its connection to our country’s remarkable Air Force heritage, including the rich history and relationship that our city and province have enjoyed with the Canadian Forces.”

The Jets also shared their alternate logos, which I must say, are quite spiffy in their own right. (Click on the images for a full view of the logos.)

Initial impressions:

While the leaked logo implied an overly sterile look, the official logo really “pops.” (To steal a phrase from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”) The Jets incorporated colors from the old logo but give it a sleek, modern feel. My guess is that proponents will use words like “modernized” and “sophisticated” to describe the new logo. Detractors might say that it’s too “corporate” or maybe even “cold,” especially compared to the classic look of the previous logo. The biggest point of deliberation might be the inclusion of the maple leaf, something that Chris Creamer of SportsLogos.net touched on in this post.

I hate that there’s a maple leaf in it – I just do… I don’t see the point in showing off that you’re a Canadian team in a league where there’s several. It’s like when the Ottawa Renegades CFL team launched their logo with a big maple leaf — it’s the Canadian Football League… who are you representing here? Everyone?

Overall, I’m impressed with the output, especially in an age in which sports teams try to beat us over the head with how “extreme” their logos can get. There might be a certain blandness to it, but it looks sharp overall.

My favorites might be the alternate logos, though. They’re both simple and eye-catching, which is what I imagine most graphic designers hope to achieve. That being said, the most important branding matter was settled earlier this off-season: they went with the name Jets, which in my mind was really the only choice.

Anyway, enough of what I think about the new logo. What’s your impression of the Jets’ new look? Since your responses might be a little more nuanced than simply liking or disliking the modernized logo, I factored in the old logo into the poll as well. Let us know what you think by voting and also sharing your thoughts in the comments. If you don’t mind, please keep your comparisons to the primary logos to avoid confusion.

(Note: As you may have noticed, this release includes just the logo. We’ll keep an eye on updates regarding what their actual jerseys will end up looking like and pass that information along when it becomes available.)

Wow, really Winnipeg? This is what you were hiding from everyone for that long? This logo looks like an 8 year old child was told to pick 3 images provided by Word on Windows 97, and place them on top of one another. Both alternate logos are much better, and theyre not even that good. Overall I think Jets fans should be disappointed with how lackluster this logo is.

hanktheking - Jul 22, 2011 at 5:36 PM

Literally, the words “Winnipeg” or “Jets” would have blown this out of the water. I’m sorry, I’m not a Jets fan and I don’t mean to upset anyone, but in my opinion this logo is so boringly plain.

Not a big fan of the new logo, but with the way teams change their jerseys in the NHL, we’ll probably see a little of all of them at some point. All in all I’m just glad hockey went back to Winnipeg. Next stop Quebec/Hartford or something!

And don’t forget “there” instead of “their”. Really, I don’t enjoy pointing out such errors, except when the person is calling out someone else on their errors (see the correct use of their?).

Personally, if the US can’t win something, I tend to root for Canada. I won’t let this guy change that, but I’ll remind him that Vancouver lost recently in a pretty big sporting event. To a team based in the US. Just saying.

The new one sucks. I was set to buy a jets jersey if they went back to te old one. Guess i will just have to settle on the throw back #8 jersey. The design sucks pegers tell your team to change it.

thegonz13 - Jul 23, 2011 at 6:54 AM

@ kingjoe1… Yeah, we like the Maple Leaf up here. In fact, the Maple Leaf has beaten the crap out of the Stars and Stripes fairly often, at least in hockey!

Idiotic comment on part!

surly1n1nd1anapol1s - Jul 23, 2011 at 9:36 AM

As a casual hockey fan in Indiana, I like the primary logo. But the two secondary should also be used for merchandise and maybe an alternate uni. When currency parity becomes a thing of the past Winnipeg will need the merchandise sales.

I personally hate it. I mean, if you’re going to use the Winnipege Jets name, at least show respect to the heritage. do something that hearkens back to the old logo, but you don’t have to copy it.

t16rich - Jul 23, 2011 at 2:12 PM

This is exactly what I knew would happen. The new jets theme would not be nearly as nice as the old jerseys. Thats why Ifelt they had to go back to the old jerseys if they were going to remain the Jets. Or come up with a completely new jersey color and team name. Any jets fan buying these jerseys overthe old ones I will politely call blind when it comes to jersey fashion.

Ally - Jul 23, 2011 at 3:52 PM

Props on honoring the Canadian Royal Air Force with the new logo, but the color scheme is subdued to the point of being boring, and I agree that there is an unfinished “clip art” feel to the overall design of it. I’m glad that they didn’t further conflate old and new Jets by adopting the old logo or something similar. It’s good that they’re going in a completely different direction. The maple leaf seems a bit silly, but isn’t too surprising considering the “this team’s CANADIAN now” publicity surrounding the relocation. Overall, I think it’s one of the most boring logos I’ve ever seen in NHL hockey. However, this could easily be solved with a strong jersey design.

classic idea, although it also projects a staid and stale vibe. it does beat the atrocious attempts by the nfl jets to build a brand with the same nickname. however, considering that manitoba has a significant religious community with pacifist views, will the military imagery alienate a portion of the potential market? especially for a franchise that doesn’t have much elbow room in terms of a population base.

nhlbruins90 - Jul 23, 2011 at 8:03 PM

Well, I don’t know much about it, but they said they have strong ties to the Canadian Air Force too. If you’re a hockey team and it’s a choice between a pacifist logo and a military inspired one, I think that’s an easy call. The Winnipeg PeaceMakers would be singularly unsuccessful, imho of course.

8man - Jul 23, 2011 at 6:44 PM

I like it. And it’s symmetry really appeals to me. However, I am neither Canadian nor a Jets fan. In my opinion the old one was only slightly better than some of the ABA crap from the late sixties and early seventies. And you have to like the fact that the Mapel Leaf is prominent. I really dig the fact that you see a red maple leaf and think Canada. That’s brand recognition. Canada, the Jets are back! Best wishes.

quizguy66 - Jul 23, 2011 at 8:49 PM

The logo is a fail. Bring the team back and then do this drastic a change? Why. The response to keeping the name the Jets should’ve been the cue to this ownership that fans want back what they had. A slightly freshened up version of the classic Jets logo is what should’ve happened. This looks something like if the Phillies and Blue Jays merged.

-QG

hystoracle - Jul 25, 2011 at 11:36 AM

Unfortunately the old logo and colors are actually owned by the franchise in Phoenix. I still don’t know why they just didn’t allow that franchise to be moved back to Winnipeg a year ago.